St Stephen’s College on Tuesday appointed its first female principal – a historic step in the college’s 145-year history. Professor Susan Elias, a computer scientist, will take over the leadership of the iconic institution from June 1 as the school’s 14th headmistress. The reactions that have poured in from faculty and former alumni, among others, seem to say the same thing: “It’s about time.”
The college was founded in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi, led by the sons of various faculties of the University of Cambridge. One of them, Canon Samuel Scott Allnutt was the founder and first director.
It has produced many illustrious graduates ranging from Supreme Court judges, famous actresses and lawyers to the captain of the Indian cricket team, but it has never had a female director. An announcement by the Bishop of Delhi and the college’s president, Dr. Paul Swarup, on Tuesday showed that this will change. The announcement stated: “The College’s Supreme Council is pleased to announce that Professor Susan Elias will assume the position of the college’s fourteenth director and first lady.”
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Ilyas completed her schooling from Good Shepherd Higher Secondary School, Chennai, after which she obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering. She then earned a master’s degree in multimedia technology and a doctorate in multimedia communications.
For the first decade of her career, she focused on becoming an effective teacher. She devoted the next 10 years to establishing herself as a strong researcher, and in the following decade, she focused on developing and honing her leadership skills, Elias told HT.
Long journey for Stephen
Women were first admitted to the college for the Master of Arts program in 1928-1929. After that, it took a decade for them to be accepted for the first time at undergraduate level. However, this only lasted from 1943 to 1949, with the establishment of Miranda House. Women were then re-admitted in 1975. From 1993 to 1994, they were also admitted to the Bachelor of Science (General) and Bachelor of Arts (Pass) courses.
Supriya Guha, who was among the first batch of female students in 1975, recalls that a state of emergency had just been declared around that time. “We were 45 girls out of a group of about 1,100 students.”
She added that having a woman director “is a good thing. It’s been almost a century and a half, and it’s about time that happened. This shouldn’t be a notable development in this day and age.”
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Mahesh Gopalan, associate professor in the college’s history department, said the institution has historically been on a long journey towards equality and gender equality. “Although the number of female students and faculty members is gradually increasing, the appointment of a woman director will certainly mark a new and important phase in the history of the institution,” he told HT.
In a post on X, former alumnus and MP Shashi Tharoor said: “Since women were admitted as students in 1975, it is time to allow women to lead the college as well.”
